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Welcome to the gateway of the Helion Archive. A repository for the recovered records that inspired the book.

What are plankton?

[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #1928

 

The word “plankton” comes from the Greek for “drifter” or “wanderer.” An organism is considered plankton if it is carried by tides and currents, and cannot swim well enough to move against these forces. Some plankton drift this way for their entire life cycle. Others are only classified as plankton when they are young, but they eventually grow large enough to swim against the currents. Plankton are usually microscopic, often less than one inch in length, but they also include larger species like some crustaceans and jellyfish.

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This was originally published on https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/plankton.html

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